The Verdict Reworked -- a better opinion of the Brown/Warren Debate

My previous summary opinion of the Brown/Warren debate was done too hastily and at a late hour. Please forgive the less-than-well-formulated opinion. For my own pacification I reworked the following updated and more cogent (I hope!) reply.

Brown, always the bully, showed his condescending and rude character as he told Warren she was "not his professor." Moreover, he is still stuck in Cherokee nation, to which a polled electorate clearly shows it does not care about that. Elizabeth answered as completely as possible. At this point who the heck cares what part of her DNA imprint is Cherokee and which box she checked? Why doesn't Brown simply ask for a genetic sample!

Brown is NOT the Independent he says he is. He is a Republican and he does NOT vote an even Democratic and Republican split. He would vote Mitch McConnell in as leader if Republicans were to win the Senate and most probably lied when he muddied his response to that question. Not only would McConnell, for whom the unseating of the president was his only goal in a country yearning for compromise but many Republican enemies of science would be chairing committees that hold the fate of the nation’s health in their hands.

When asked who his favorite Supreme Court Justice is his poorest response and one which Brown blew a hole as wide as the ocean in his candidacy was Scalia. He squirmed and figured this was NOT the right answer or it was the "right" answer in an electorate that is not rightwingnut so he then went to Kennedy and finally to Sotomayer! From Scalia to Sotomayer — two justices who could not be more philosophically further apart! Scalia is so right wing he falls off the rightwing side of the fence. The audience booed and then laughed at Brown’s preposterously ridiculous retort. The answer to THIS question, as I see it, marks Brown's loss certainly of this debate and perhaps of the election as well. It pegged him as one of the dumbest senators posing as someone who is supposed to be smart. He isn't. He is a bully who happens to throw his weight around and knows how to be a politician.

Elizabeth Warren was superb and, as usual, brilliant. Her response to that question she zinged over the plate with a pitch of about 100 MPH. She answered easily and smiling as she probably knew Brown's all-over-the-map response could be his death knell said simply: Kagan. Yes, she got an "A+." I believe this is Scott Brown's Waterloo answer to a question that was simple. This floundering flub of a thug politician could not have answered it worse and it was an accurate reflection of his poor intellectual ability. This proof of his lack of cerebral acumen could not have happened to a more significant BULLY. He should and, hopefully, will be unseated in November.

Verdict!

The Supreme Court favorite question asked by David Gregory is the one that Brown blew by his answer a hole as wide as the ocean!!! He chose Scalia and then when he squirmed and figured this was NOT the right answer or it was the "right" answer in an electorate that is not rightwingnut so he went to Kennedy and then to Sotomayer! The audience had first a boo and then a laugh at this preposterous answer. THIS is the question that marks Brown's loss and pegs him as one of the DUMBEST senators posing as someone who is supposed to be smart. He isn't. He is a bully who happens to throw his weight around and knows how to be a politician.

Elizabeth Warren was SUPERB, utterly brilliant and her answer to that question she zinged over the plate with a pitch of about 100 MPH. She said simply and smiling as she KNEW this was Brown's death blow as she said: Kagan. Yep she got an "A++" This is Scott Brown's Waterloo answer to a question that was simple and it could not have happened to a more significant BULLY and all around JERK!
EXACTLY WHY WE NEED TO ELECT ELIZABETH WARREN TO THE US SENATE FROM MASSACHUSETTS WITHOUT FAIL!

Good Luck

Good luck to the lovely, dignified and brilliant Elizabeth Warren. She is our Song of Solomon, a virtuous woman whose price is far above rubies!!

Not So Fine with Me

I encourage you to read this attached article by Jonathan Chait in Reader Supported News entitled "The Poetic Justice of Romney’s Self Immolation" here or below.

 

This is a perfect article and right on the money (pardon the pun.)  No surprises from Mitt Romney here.

 

The American political right now residing in the Republican Party is mean, racist, and presently MOST unethical as we can now see by the Republican voter suppression tactics in all the major so called swing states.  There is something, I believe, about my liberal compatriots that says we would never deprive anyone in our nation of that which makes us us - the ability to cast a vote.  It is for most of us the only power we have.  But the right does NOT care.  If anything they want to remove even from life itself those who think a nation has the duty to provide those who cannot help themselves the basics - food, clothing, shelter and health care. 

 

Romney and his Republican Party of charlatans and those know nothings who do not know enough to figure out Romney does not give a damn about anyone but himself and those of his own class.  His class does not include most Tea Baggers who erroneously think Romney cares about them.  He doesn’t.

 

If one thinks back to the picnic table campaign lunch Romney had with middle class people one can read his body language to see how ill at ease he was with the regular folks of Bethel Park, Pittsburgh.  He even insulted their freely-provided cookies.  But when he was attending the infamous 47% comment Florida dinner of those millionaires and billionaires whom he counted on for cash he felt just fine.  One can see it.

 

He did not fool me for a minute.  He and his Republican Party surely are not and never have been fine with me!

 

http://readersupportednews.org/off-site-opinion-section/72-72/13737-the-poetic-justice-of-romneys-self-immolation

 

Why we MUST UNEQUIVOCALLY support the re-election of our president and of course elect the GREAT Elizabeth Warren to the US Senate from Massachusetts!

A Price Above Rubies

I have said this until I am blue (pardon the pun) in the face. Elizabeth Warren is one of the greatest senatorial candidates that Massachusetts ever has had the opportunity for whom to vote. We are so lucky. Not only is she committed to the middle class but she is a brilliant academic scholar of economics at a time when we need such expertise. Scott Brown with his tomahawk chops, insulting and racist staff rants cannot hold a candle to this woman of character and integrity. I am hoping fervently that the voters of Massachusetts will see what I see having met Elizabeth Warren on three separate occasions. Since listening to her interview with Bill Moyers on PBS during the near total economic collapse of 2008 I was convinced of her phenomenal ability.

Unless you are part of the 1% wealthiest then YOU should vote for Elizabeth Warren. If you are a Massachusetts resident and part of the 99% YOU should vote for Elizabeth Warren. If you want a more equitable, fair and just nation then YOU should vote for Elizabeth Warren. She will not let us down. In addition to her academic excellence she is a humane and wonderful human being whom I will be proud to call my senator from the great State of Massachusetts!

Elizabeth Warren is a GEM, a price above rubies, and Massachusetts should NOT let this gem slip through our fingers.

The Company Brown Keeps -- Brown Has Some Splainin to Do!

While it is true, gotcha politics stinks, sometimes it is necessary to fight fire with so called proverbial fire. Scott Brown has recently taken some necessary return fire from the great Elizabeth Warren. Scott Brown is full of himself, thinks his Senate seat is permanent and that he is immune from scandal. Certainly a woman like Elizabeth Warren could never ruin his ever-so-masculine image and career by trouncing him in this Senatorial election. Well, it's ALL image as the vicious Cherokee tomahawk chop racist rant of Brown's campaign cronies proves. That IS backfiring and it SHOULD.

However, on another and very important front, I suggest Brown yet again take that nasty log out of his eye. The article below says legions about Brown's involvement as attorney for one of the most flagrant real estate scam companies writing so called "liars loans" leading up to the 2008 crash. What did Mr. Brown know and when did he know it? This is a question NO candidate wants to be asked.

I will let you read all about it here and below for details. Scott Brown has some BIG splainin to do and the press has some Fourth Estate investigation to do into this possible fatal black eye-punch which WILL, HOPEFULLY, land on Brown soon.

http://news.firedoglake.com/2012/09/28/scott-brown-worked-as-real-estate-attorney-with-notorious-document-fraudster-lps/
Scott Brown Worked as a Real Estate Attorney For Notorious Document Fraudster LPS


Why it is VITAL to elect the great Elizabeth Warren to the US Senate!

A must watch from today's news -- FIND OUT ABOUT ALEC and its SUBVERSION of YOU!

This was forwarded to me and is SPOT ON!:

Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! today dedicated a segment to Bill Moyers upcoming PBS special on the American Legislative Exchange Commission (aka ALEC). It is important for everyone to know about this organization which works for a very silent, corporate/1% elite that is subverting our democracy and has been for decades since Ronald Reagan.

I’m amazed in my work with local political leaders for the upcoming 2012 election here in MetroWest how NO ONE knew what ALEC was when I mentioned it.

Amy’s been featuring news on ALEC for years – finally, I’m glad to see more coming to light.

This is the organization that is spreading voter suppression laws, thousands of bills throughout the country limiting woman’s reproductive rights, gun control laws – pushed through which are not popular with citizens (i.e. Stand Your Ground).

We all need to know about this organization financed by corporations and private, monied interests from around the globe – which is financing the campaigns of many state and local politicians, including SCOTT BROWN.

Remember that in November when you step into the booth.

Link: http://www.democracynow.org/2012/9/27/the_united_states_of_alec_bill

Cherokee Nation Full Statement

Here is the full statement by the Cherokee Nation:

The Cherokee Nation is  disappointed in and denounces the disrespectful actions of staffers and  supporters of Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown. The conduct of these individuals  goes far beyond what is appropriate and proper in political discourse. The use  of stereotypical “war whoop chants” and “tomahawk chops” are offensive and  downright racist. It is those types of actions that perpetuate negative  stereotypes and continue to minimize and degrade all native peoples.

The individuals involved  in this unfortunate incident are high ranking staffers in both the senate office  and the Brown campaign. A campaign that would allow and condone such offensive  and racist behavior must be called to task for their actions.

The Cherokee Nation is a  modern, productive society, and I am blessed to be their chief. I will not be  silent when individuals mock and insult our people and our great nation.

We need individuals in the  United States Senate who respect Native Americans and have an understanding of  tribal issues. For that reason, I call upon Sen. Brown to apologize for the  offensive actions of his staff and their uneducated, unenlightened and racist  portrayal of native peoples.

Truth or Consequences -- A Statement from the Cherokee Nation

A letter and statement from The Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation standing in FIRM opposition and denouncement of Senator Brown's staff and what racist behavior Scott Brown allowed them, with out consequences, to commit in his name is here or below -- Please pass this along:

http://samuel-warde.com/2012/09/cherokee-nation-actions-of-senator-brown-staff-racist-and-offensive/


Why we MUST elect the qualified, dignified, mature and brilliant Elizabeth Warren to the US Senate because she belongs there and Scott Brown does NOT!

A Letter to Barbara

I enclose a wonderfully written opinion by the great Barbara Streisand here and below entitled: Obama vs. Romney: A Clear Choice. I urge you to read it. It is exquisitely written. I commented:

I love you, Barbara Streisand, and I always will. Your article is beautifully written and everything you say is exactly correct. It is gorgeously choreographed like the many talented things you have done during your life.

Ms. Streisand, you are a superstar and you are my superstar. There will never be another like you. Moreover, not only can you do superbly all the artistic things you have done you also have honed a political philosophy that is, at its core, humane to work for the betterment of our nation and our world.

Thank you for all you have given us, our country and for all that you have given to the progression of men and women through the arts. You are our national treasure!


http://www.readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/13550-focus-obama-vs-romney-a-clear-choice

What Ryan is Calling Romney and Scott Brown's Classless Racism

According to Larry O'Donnell quoting Politico, Paul Ryan is calling Romney "The Stench!" i.e. if "The Stench calls tell him I'm having finger cookies with Peggie Noonan."

If this gives you pause to laugh, do so BUT NEVER take anything for granted. Keep working hard AND keep telling everyone you know to REGISTER TO VOTE especially if you have friends in states like Florida, Ohio and other swing states who are voting Democratic but who Republicans want to suppress their vote.

Moreover, the ballot in Florida is long and that is an understatement. NO MATTER, tell your friends in Florida to become familiar with it and do NOT let that impede their voting for the president!

These things are of the UTMOST importance. COMPLACENCY IS NOT A STRATEGY. Complacency is a strategy for losing -- and a Romney presidency would be Bush on steroids and is unacceptable. Take NOTHING for granted.

I might add another shameful action by Scott Brown's own STAFF. The Native American racism they exhibited at a get together of staff reminded me of a lynching in the south during the era of Jim Crow. It was an EMBARRASSMENT to not only to the bully candidate Brown but an INSULT to Massachusetts citizens in general everywhere. See Rachel Maddow if you want the disgusting details of the latest Scott Brown racist malfeasance. He is an ABOMINATION. It should remind you that the Republicans have NOTHING and is the reason we CANNOT be complacent and MUST re-elect the president and the GREAT BRILLIANT Elizabeth Warren to the US Senate!

Scott Brown's Log

Now Brown is criticizing Elizabeth again for whom she represented, LTV Steel in the 1990s, allegedly, as the Boston Globe said, "assisting the former industrial conglomerate in its fight against a congressional requirement that it pay millions of dollars into a fund for its retired coal miners’ health care." Elizabeth answered the charge. Naturally I will not leave our great candidate Elizabeth Warren without coming to HER defense.

Look, this is simply RIDICULOUS. Get a check on reality. People had LIVES BEFORE running for office now and, as an attorney it included working sometimes with different corporations or on behalf of them. Sometimes especially in the legal field, as I personally have experienced in a NON-attorney role, one must represent many different interests. Guess what? We LIVE in a capitalist society in case you haven't noticed. In our system even corporations deserve representation as well. You may not love the company you represent but in our system EVERYONE deserves their day in court. THIS is a good thing AND the attorney in a firm does NOT often get to pick and choose whom they represent. Without corporation attorney advocacy the entire economic system would collapse as companies ad infinitum would be sued with NO representation. Even plaintiffs would suffer by that.

1993 is a long time ago and ONCE AGAIN I think Elizabeth has answered this sufficiently. I was ALWAYS a left of center cause advocate but that did not mean I did not have to make a living. Companies, corporations and those involved in bankruptcy need representation too and sometimes as in life things are not neatly wrapped packages.

GET A GRIP Senator Brown, my image is of you and your staff wading through all kinds of material just to get a GOTCHA MOMENT on this gem of a candidate. You were a BULLY in the first debate and you continue to be so. I look at Elizabeth Warren now who formed the Consumer Protection Bureau for what she IS and WILL be a STRONG ADVOCATE FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS. Massachusetts should consider itself LUCKY to get this brilliant woman.

Mr. Brown, Jesus said, do not look at the speck the other man's eye when YOU have a LOG in your own and I say YOU HAVE A BIG ONE!

Why we need to send the great Elizabeth Warren to the US Senate from Massachusetts now more than ever.

Send Mitt to the ER!!!

Sorry just have to let'r rip.  Romneybot says the poor can get treatment in the ER here or below.  HE IS AN IDIOT?!!!Can this jerk say ANYTHING without putting his foot and this time his whole one in his mouth. WHAT AN AWFUL disgusting candidate. That is EXACTLY what hospitals DO NOT WANT TO DO and why the health care bill was so important. Using ER's for medical care hurts EVERYONE including those that really do need the ER! 

Mitt you are beyond belief -- worse than Sarah Palin if that is possible! It was HE that got ER treatment down in Mass.  MITT YOU TWITT, oh maybe you forget that. Great a presidential candidate who cannot remember his own policy!  

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/23/mitt-romney-60-minutes-health-care_n_1908129.html#comments

Why we need to re-elect the president more than ever and send the GREAT Elizabeth Warren to the Senate!

Through My Eyes -- Voting Smart -- Warren v. Brown

A relative and I always state that we are a suckers for smart and we surely are. One thing is certain Elizabeth is very very smart and it showed during the debate. The appellation of professor which Brown stated so often to me is a plus. He must think it not. One wonders how anyone could think that being a professor is not an advantage. The problems our country faces are daunting and economic difficulties are, indeed, understatedly complex. She formed, through the president's appointment, the Consumer Protection Bureau. That speaks for itself.

I thought Brown came out of the starting gate a bully. He was snarky, sometimes rude and to me generally unlikable. He attacked her for the inane Cherokee native issue. I tell the story that in my youth my father said we might have some Scottish ancestry. I was incredulous. How could a seemingly 100% Jewish family think some were Scottish? They thought so because of family Ellis Island lore. In fact, I became very good friends with a woman in my dorm who had heard the story too. We found out later we were related. That's how genealogical issues get transmitted. They are often verbally handed down from generation to generation. Truly though with all the difficult issues the nation faces this native American story means nothing.

I thought Brown seemed nervous especially in the beginning. He sweated profusely.Moreover, he came across as particularly abrasive especially when he said she obviously did not "look like" a native American and we, he said, could see that. Well, I do not look Scottish either, Senator. So, what the heck does THAT mean? Nothing. Maybe he should do a DNA analysis!

Yes, she is softer and has a softer classier voice. I personally like that. He reminded me of a piece of sandpaper and a battering ram -- rough and harsh.

Further, and more importantly, I NEVER would vote for Brown not because of how he appears but because of who he politically is. He is bought, signed, sealed and delivered by the banks, the big corporatists and voted as such. He would and does represent the top 1%. He tried DESPERATELY to stay away from the name Romney, did not mention it once and I can understand why but he still is who he is.

If the Republicans take over the Senate it changes everything from who chairs important committees like the climate change denier Sen. Inhofe whom Warren mentioned could control the committee that votes on environmental protection issues to what votes are taken up and when. Brown thought that not important but it is it's VERY important. If Republicans take control of the Senate right wing extremists will have control of it too. Mitch McConnell would be its leader and that is a bad thing for all of us.

In sum, Elizabeth Warren is INFINITELY smarter than Brown, set up the Consumer Protection Agency through presidential appointment, her economic credentials are sky high and to me those are her most important qualities. She is better because she understands the complexities of our economic system better and SHE would TRULY be on the side of the 99% which includes most of us.

Just because Scott Brown looks good in a truck does NOT mean he looks good in the Senate. He should NOT be there and Elizabeth Warren should. The electorate should vote SMART and in November put her there!

Why we need to elect Elizabeth Warren to the US Senate! Work for hard for her and do so.

The paragraph in red at the bottom is mine. Read and Heed! THEN LISTEN ON YOUTUBE GEORGE CARLIN'S AMERICAN DREAM!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acLW1vFO-2Q

Four Reasons Romney Might Still Win

By Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Blog

20 September 12

 an Romney possibly recover? A survey conducted between Sept. 12 and Sept. 16 by the Pew Research Center - before the "47 percent victim" video came to light - showed Obama ahead of Romney 51% to 43% among likely voters.

That's the biggest margin in the September survey prior to a presidential election since Bill Clinton led Bob Dole, 50% to 38% in 1996.

And, remember, this recent poll was done before America watched Romney belittle almost half the nation.

For the last several days I've been deluged with calls from my inside-the-beltway friends telling me "Romney's dead."

Hold it. Rumors of Romney's demise are premature for at least four reasons:

1.                              Between now and Election Day come two jobs reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics - October 5 and November 2. If they're as bad as the last report, showing only 96,000 jobs added in August (125,000 are needed just to keep up with population growth) and the lowest percentage of employed adults since 1981, Romney's claim the economy is off track becomes more credible, and Obama's that it's on the mend harder to defend.

With gas prices rising, corporate profits shrinking, most of Europe in recession, Japan still a basket case, and the Chinese economy slowing, the upcoming job reports are unlikely to be stellar.

 

2.                              Also between now and Election Day are three presidential debates, starting October 3. It's commonly thought Obama will win them handily but that expectation may be very wrong - and could work against him. Yes, Romney is an automaton - but when the dials are set properly he can give a good imitation of a human engaged in sharp debate. He did well in the Republican primary debates.

Obama, by contrast, can come off slow and ponderous. Recall how he stuttered and stumbled during the 2008 Democratic primary debates. And he hasn't been in a real-live debate for four years; Romney recently emerged from almost a year of them.

 

3.                              During the next 7 final weeks of the campaign, the anti-Obama forces will be spending a gigantic amount of money. Not just the Romney campaign and Romney's super PACs, but other super PACS aligned with Romney, billionaires spending their own fortunes, and non-profit "social welfare" organizations like the Chamber of Commerce, Karl Rove's "Crossroads," and various Koch-brothers political fronts - all will dump hundreds of millions on TV and radio spots, much of it spreading lies and distortions. Some of this money will be devoted to get-out-the-vote drives - to phone banks and door-to-door canvassing to identify favorable voters, and vans to bring them to the polling stations.

It's an easy bet they'll far outspend Obama and his allies. I've heard two-to-one. The race is still close enough that a comparative handful of voters in swing states can make the difference - which means gobs of money used to motivate voters to polling stations can be critical.

 

4.                              As they've displayed before, the Republican Party will do whatever it can to win - even if it means disenfranchising certain voters. To date, 11 states have enacted voter identification laws, all designed by Republican legislatures and governors to dampen Democratic turnout.

The GOP is also encouraging what can only be termed "voter vigilante" groups to "monitor polling stations to prevent fraud" - which means intimidating minorities who have every right to vote. We can't know at this point how successful these efforts may be but it's a dangerous wildcard. And what about those Diebold voting machines?

So don't for a moment believe "Romney's dead," and don't be complacent. The hard work lies ahead, in the next seven weeks.

And even if Obama is reelected, more hard work begins after Inauguration Day - when we must push him to be tougher on the Republicans than he was in his first term, and do what the nation needs.

GET OUT AND REGISTER TO VOTE AND IF YOU KNOW SWING STATE VOTERS GET THEM REGISTERED AND VOTE DEMOCRATIC UP AND DOWN THE TICKET!!!

---

Robert B. Reich, Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, was Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration. Time Magazine named him one of the ten most effective cabinet secretaries of the last century. He has written thirteen books, including the best sellers "Aftershock" and "The Work of Nations." His latest is an e-book, "Beyond Outrage." He is also a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine and chairman of Common Cause.

 

Course Correction

What conservative journalist Peggy Noonan in her article "Time for an Intervention" in the Wall Street Journal here and  below suggests to ameliorate the sinking Romney candidacy through an "intervention" does not realize is that Mitt Romney IS the Republican brand. It is a brand that began with the Tea Bag Party and ends with Mitt Romney loosing because people need help, the economy needs help, and Wall Street needs regulation to within an inch of its life.  Therefore, government becomes NOT the problem but PART of the solution.  Republicans can simply never ever admit that FDR had it right by rethinking of the role of government to preserve a democratic nation's life.  

We have seen over and over and over again money flowing from the top down did not work.  It created over time great booms and great busts. Those at the top ultimately kept all the money and transferred it overseas or as Romney did evaded taxes altogether in the Cayman's or Swiss bank accounts. 

We've played the trickle down game for the past 40 years and lost our Wall Street Las Vegas casino shirts. THAT is what is wrong with Mitt Romney. He is an empty vessel into which anything the Republican billionaires want Mitt Romney the unprincipled empty suit to regurgitate he will because he wants the oval office that badly. 

The fault dear Brutus is not Mitt Romney it's the Republican Party.  It will NEVER EVER be able to right its rightwingnut extremist ship until it makes a course correction due left because center or slightly left of center is where most of the American public sits.  Moreover, as demographics change it will most probably increase slightly its left of center tilt.

The right wing extremist Republican Party will never change course so the Republican Party will be a corpse unless and until it realizes a course correction is a MUST!

http://blogs.wsj.com/peggynoonan/2012/09/18/time-for-an-intervention/

An Island of No Escape and an excerpt of "Thurston Howell Romney" by David Brooks

David Brooks, a conservative journalist, in The New York Times today, wrote a brilliant piece on yet another gigantic faux pas of the worst Republican candidate in US history, Mitt Romney.  Now it is about this latest wizard of the gaffe's indicting 47% of the American people (nearly one-half of the total humanity that calls itself American,) as those people who simply want cradle to grave government safety net entitlements with no working input for them.  I could have pasted the link but I though better simply to quote from part of it below.  He nails Romney to the wall for what I think is the single most destructive and sinking-of-his-own-campaign disastrous comment made by any presidential candidate EVER !

This comment suggests a few things. First, it suggests that he really doesn’t know much about the country he inhabits. Who are these freeloaders? Is it the Iraq war veteran who goes to the V.A.? Is it the student getting a loan to go to college? Is it the retiree on Social Security or Medicare?

It suggests that Romney doesn’t know much about the culture of America. Yes, the entitlement state has expanded, but America remains one of the hardest-working nations on earth. Americans work longer hours than just about anyone else. Americans believe in work more than almost any other people. Ninety-two percent say that hard work is the key to success, according to a 2009 Pew Research Survey.

It says that Romney doesn’t know much about the political culture. Americans haven’t become childlike worshipers of big government. On the contrary, trust in government has declined. The number of people who think government spending promotes social mobility has fallen.

The people who receive the disproportionate share of government spending are not big-government lovers. They are Republicans. They are senior citizens. They are white men with high school degrees. As Bill Galston of the Brookings Institution has noted, the people who have benefited from the entitlements explosion are middle-class workers, more so than the dependent poor.

Romney’s comments also reveal that he has lost any sense of the social compact. In 1987, during Ronald Reagan’s second term, 62 percent of Republicans believed that the government has a responsibility to help those who can’t help themselves. Now, according to the Pew Research Center, only 40 percent of Republicans believe that.

The Republican Party, and apparently Mitt Romney, too, has shifted over toward a much more hyperindividualistic and atomistic social view — from the Reaganesque language of common citizenship to the libertarian language of makers and takers. There’s no way the country will trust the Republican Party to reform the welfare state if that party doesn’t have a basic commitment to provide a safety net for those who suffer for no fault of their own.

The final thing the comment suggests is that Romney knows nothing about ambition and motivation. The formula he sketches is this: People who are forced to make it on their own have drive. People who receive benefits have dependency.

But, of course, no middle-class parent acts as if this is true. Middle-class parents don’t deprive their children of benefits so they can learn to struggle on their own. They shower benefits on their children to give them more opportunities — so they can play sports, go on foreign trips and develop more skills.

People are motivated when they feel competent. They are motivated when they have more opportunities. Ambition is fired by possibility, not by deprivation, as a tour through the world’s poorest regions makes clear.

Sure, there are some government programs that cultivate patterns of dependency in some people. ... But, as a description of America today, Romney’s comment is a country-club fantasy. It’s what self-satisfied millionaires say to each other. It reinforces every negative view people have about Romney.

Personally, I think he’s a kind, decent man who says stupid things because he is pretending to be something he is not — some sort of cartoonish government-hater. But it scarcely matters. He’s running a depressingly inept presidential campaign. Mr. Romney, your entitlement reform ideas are essential, but when will the incompetence stop?

It cannot stop because Romneybot is controlled hook, line and sinker by the Citizen's United money billionaire machine that put him there.  Romney does not control Romney; Thurston Howell does and he has put him on an island from which there is no escape.  

Honey Boo Boo -- An American Tragedy

Interesting article by Joanna Weiss today, September 18, 2012 in The Boston Globe "Honey Boo Boo and the Real America" placed here and below on this our uniquely and, to me, tragically American phenomenon. I first tuned in when a relative who values academics as I do asked me to watch something so utterly disgusting I would wax incredulous for the rest of my life. So, I did. For about 5 seconds of horror I am now psychologically maimed for life.

Yes, we are a divided nation but for the Globe's Joanna Weiss to tout this poor southern redneck family as simply examples of Maslow's self-actualized beings who sell their female child for a tiara is disgusting. How about showing a reality show in a Harvard classroom discussing the history of philosophical thought and how it relates to our very serious human condition.

How wonderful it would be if this nation were composed mainly of those who place value on academics, learning and science instead of laughing at those who make the US the laughing stock of the world. Shame on people who watch this junk for making NY and Hollywood think this trash is money and shame on Honey Boo Boo's family for creating a child whose odds increase every day that she will probably lose the game of life in the end!


http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2012/09/18/honey-boo-boo-and-way-bridge-national-divide/nWfyiJF2NOBUNKrGwzWSHN/story.html?camp=newsletter

Getting Along -- Rosh Hashanah Thoughts – the Middle East in Crisis

The essence of a free man is to have the ability to speak one's thoughts no matter how odious BUT for the first time in my life where the issue of an anti-Islamic film that has wreaked so much havoc, where SO many lives hang in the balance and where countries have weapons of mass destructive capability I ask those who would be critical of Islam to HOLD YOUR TONGUE.

Further, I cannot help thinking that the persons who made the accursed film, who conceived the dubbing of it, who turned it into a hateful piece of disrespect to Islam and the Prophet who means SO much to over a billion people, had something to do with trying to hurt the president's re-election as they are desperate.  I love rational thought for PROOF of reality BUT it is odd to me that this event happened so close to the presidential election. 

I HOPE the FBI and other law enforcement officials investigate this film to within an inch of its life. NO ONE has the right with their speech to incite mayhem and by that speech tear societies apart yelling "fire" in a crowded theater!

In our culture most people who want to hate and hurt others have the right to speak. One hopes, in a land with free speech, the haters will be outnumbered by those of us who want to rationally encourage the opposite -- hope, love and tolerance for our fellow man. 

I hope more is spoken by the Islamic world to help understand in calm the underpinnings of their rage. I believe it goes beyond the dastardly film. The people of Islam are hurting and I do not blame them for that. We must understand each other as the essence of the monotheistic beliefs imparts. Jesus instructs:

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind’: This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like unto it: ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

The Jewish sage Rabbi Hillel says when he explains the essence of Judaism:

"What is hateful to thee, do not do unto thy fellowman; this is the whole Law. The rest is but commentary."

The Prophet Mohammad, blessed be his name, even though I do not know Islam I am sure carries the same thought as most of us TRY to take the good of the faiths to teach our fellow man how to simply just get along.

A fervent wish on Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish solemn New Year) for a healthy, happy and more peaceful world!

A Superior President -- Obama's Way

If this article "Obama's Way" by Michael Lewis in Vanity Fair Magazine does not make you grateful we have such a superior president then nothing will. He is the exact opposite of team Bush and the antithesis of what a team Romney would most probably be like. It is long (9 pages) but it is worth it. I read it in spurts. I post it here and below.

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/2012/10/michael-lewis-profile-barack-obama

Yet another reason (as if we needed another) to re-elect the president and send Elizabeth Warren to the US Senate!